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Regardless of what your vacation checklist consists of, we have invigorating outdoors, amazing cultural sights, mouth-watering food and Southern hospitality all wrapped into one amazing destination. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing overnight getaway or for a one of a kind adventure, Calhoun County is the natural attraction.

Friday, January 29, 2016

It just so happens that the
Jacksonville State University Drama Department is putting on a musical named “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson”. This
musical is about our 7th president’s childhood on the frontier and
about his controversial reign in the White House. This musical will incorporate
facts along with some pieces of fiction, and some material may not be appropriate for those under 16.

Now,
let’s learn more about the true
Andrew Jackson.

Born March 15, 1767, to Andrew and
Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, Scots-Irish colonists who immigrated to the
states from Ireland in 1765, in the Carolinas. Unfortunately, Andrew was born 3
weeks after his father’s death. At the age of 13, he joined the militia in the
Revolutionary war and was captured, along with his brother Robert, by the
British in 1781. Andrew was 14 when they were released, and his brother and
mother both died within weeks. The death of his family, leaving him an orphan,
lead to his antipathy of the British.

In his late teens, Andrew started
studying law in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was admitted to the bar in 1787
and appointed prosecuting attorney for the western region of NC at the age of
21. Andrew became very rich and obtained a plantation, The Hermitage, in Davidson County,
Tennessee. When Andrew died, he had around 150 slaves working the cotton on his
plantation.

Andrew Jackson was the 1st
president to assume command of his veto power. He became involved with a battle
against the 2nd Bank of the United States. Andrew believed that the
bank was corrupt, manipulated paper money, and had too much power over the
economy. His opponent in the 1832 re-election fought to reinstate the bank and
sent a bill to Congress, which Andrew vetoed against. During his 2nd term as
president, Andrew was the target of the 1st presidential assassination
attempt in American history.

His legacy also has a lot of
controversy with the Native Americans. Nearby Ohatchee includes the site of the former Fort Strother, Andrew Jackson’s headquarters during part of the Creek Indian War. In fact, there is a memorial off Highway 144 marking the Battle of Tallaseehatchee in 1813. There a marker also recaps the story of Lyncoya. Legend says that General Jackson found a
dead Creek Indian woman embracing her infant son, and when Jackson feared that
the child could be killed, he became his “protector,” nursed him back to
health, and took him to the family home, The Hermitage. Rachel Jackson,
Andrew’s wife, named the child Lyncoya, adopted him, raised him and educated
him as their own.

So how is Andrew Jackson connected
to Jacksonville, Alabama?

Founded in 1833, the land for the city
of Jacksonville was a part of the Treaty of Cusseta 1832. The Creeks ceded the
remainder of their land east of the Mississippi River in east Alabama to the
U.S. government. There were many Creek Chiefs involved including Chief Ladiga. Jackson
hoped that the Creeks would either become U.S. citizens and accept individual
homesteads or move west. When he signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, it
forced many Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi River. Andrew also
refused to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision, twice, when they ruled that
the state of Georgia had no authority to seize 9 million acres of land that
belonged to the Cherokee Tribe, which lead to the Trail of Tears.

In honor of the 7th
President Andrew Jackson, the city was renamed from Drayton to Jacksonville in
1835.

A few
years later, in 1883, Jacksonville State University was founded.

Want to
see some of this history come to life, with a twist?

Make sure to get your
tickets and go to Jacksonville State University and experience “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Show
times: February 18-21 and 25-28, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, January 25, 2016

The Jacksonville State University Men’s Basketball team
is coached by Head Coach James Green (7th season) and Assistant
Coaches Reggie Sharp (4th season), Eugene Harris (3rd
season), and Ronnie Dean (1st season). The Men’s team won the
Division II National Championship in 1985.

The Jacksonville State University
Women’s Basketball team is coached by Head Coach Rick Pietri (3rd
season) and Assistant Coaches Altherias Warmley (3rd season), Eric
Wise (2nd season), and Eryc Pittman (1st season). Their 2013-14 Overall Record was 14-18 and
they finished 5th in the OVC with a record of 8-8.

February 27th, JSU Men’s
and Women’s Basketball vs Morehead State. Women tip off at 2:00 p.m., Men tip
off at 4:30 p.m.

Baseball

The Jacksonville State University Baseball team is
coached by Jim Case, Evan Bush, and Mike Murphree. This season will be Coach
Case’s 15th season, Coach Murphree’s 3rd season, and
Coach Bush’s 1st season. In 2014 the teams overall record was 36-27
and they finished 3rd in the Ohio Valley Conference with a record of
18-12.

May 19th-21st,
JSU Baseball vs UT Martin. Game 1 at 6:00 p.m., Game 2 and 3 at 1:00 p.m.

Softball

The Jacksonville State University Softball team is
coached by Jana McGinnis, Mark Wisener, and Julie Boland. This season will be
Coach McGinnis’ 21st season, Coach Wisener’s 18th season,
and Coach Boland’s 13th season. In 2015 their Overall Record was
38-17 and they finished 2nd in the OVC with a record of 18-6.

The Jacksonville State University Track and Field
team has earned the All-Academic Team Honor for the 4th time in the
past 5 seasons. They are coached by Head Coach Steve Ray and Assistant Coach
Brian Korn. All meets are located at the Gamecock Track and Field Complex on
the JSU campus

March 12th, JSU Track
and Field Team has a meet all day

Rifle

The Jacksonville State University Rifle team is coached by
Head Coach Ron Frost and Graduate Assistant Coach Brent Books. In 2015 the team
finished 3rd in the NCAA Air Rifle and 5th Overall in the
NCAA Championships. All matches are located at the Gamecock Rifle Range

January 30th, JSU Rifle
Team has a match.

February 20th, JSU Rifle
Team has a match.

For the Runners, Cyclists and more...

February 6th, the Boy
Scouts of America are hosting their 3rd Annual Scout Strong
20k/10k/5k/1 Mile Trail Race at 7:30 a.m. at Camp Sequoyah in Delta, AL. For
more information, email smiles101876@gmail.com.
The White Plains Diamond Club 5K Fun Run/Walk begins at White Plains High
School (gym) at 8:00 a.m. For more information, email pdod29@gmail.com.

March 9th,
2nd Annual College of Nursing Run/Walk for Your Life starts at 8:00
a.m. at JSU. For registration prices, contact Carla Willingham at 256-782-5425
or at cwilling@jsu.edu.

March 26th,
Canyon Climb 5 Mile Race and 2.7 Mile Walk is located at the Tyler Center at
Regional Medical Center. For more information, email tdowning@cableone.net.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Here in Calhoun County, we love to
spend time together as a community. To make that possible, we offer many
different events and venues. There are college sporting events at Jacksonville
State University, marathons, concerts, plays, dances, weekly wine tastings, and
many festivals.

Plays & Concerts & Festivals:

January 22nd, The Oxford
Performing Arts Center will be presenting The Donoho Schools production of Disney’s The Lion King at 7:00 p.m. For
more information, go to www.oxfordpac.org.

January 30th, at 7:30
p.m. Oxford Performing Arts Center is hosting Dailey and Vincent for a
Bluegrass concert. CMT called Dailey and Vincent “The Rockstars of Bluegrass,”
the duo has 13 International Bluegrass Music Awards, and they have also been
nominated for 3 GRAMMY Awards.

Love Southern Gospel music? Head
over to Oxford Performing Arts Center February 5th, at 7:00 p.m. to
hear The Booth Brothers. Ronnie, Michael, and Paul believe that Southern Gospel
Music touches the soul and offers hope and encouragement.

February 13th, the
Foothills Piano Festival starts at 10:00 a.m. at Mason Hall Performance Center
at Jacksonville State University. The JSU Music Department has many talented
musicians that work closely with their faculty to create a variety of ensembles
that anyone will enjoy.

February 18th-21st,
Community Actors’ Studio Theatre presents “The Miracle Worker,” the true story
of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. For more information, go to www.castalabama.com.

February 24th, JSU is
hosting the Wind Ensemble & Symphonic Band Concert at Mason Hall
Performance Center at 8:00 p.m. JSU is home of the Marching Southerners, which
performed in Queen Elizabeth I’s New Year’s Day Parade in 2012.

March 4th-5th,
JSU Flute Festival starts at 2:00 p.m. at Mason Hall Performance Center.
Contact JLBenson@jsu.edu for more
information. This year the Marching Southerners will be traveling to Hawaii for
the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

March 17th-26th,
Community Actors’ Studio Theatre presents “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and
Spike.” Go to www.castalabama.com for
more information. Vanyaand his stepsister Sonia have lived
their entire lives in their family's farmhouse. While they cared
for their ailing parents, their sister Mashahas been gallivanting around
the world as a successful actress and movie star, leavingVanya and
Sonia trapped and regretful. Their soothsayer/cleaning
woman, Cassandra, keeps warning them about terrible things in the
future, which include a sudden visit fromMashaand her twenty-something boy toy Spike.

March 18th, the
Foothills Piano Festival starts at 7:30 p.m. at Mason Hall Performance Center
at Jacksonville State University. This presentation shows how music has
inspired art and art has inspired music.

March 29th, JSU hosts
the Steel Band & Latin Ensemble in Concert at Mason Hall Performance Center
at 7:30 p.m. Contact Dr. Thomas McCutchen at tmccutchen@jsu.edu
or Dr. Andy Nevala at anevala@jsu.edu. The
JSU Community Band uses flexible instrumentation, and has both music and
non-music major students.

April 2nd-3rd,
the Noble Street Festival will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the Anniston Downtown
District. Come watch the world-class pro bicycle race, listen to great live
music, let your kids enjoy the day in the KidZone, and run for a cause in the
Mellow Mushroom Mad Dash and YMCA 5K.

April 7th, Band-O-Rama
starts at 7:00 p.m. at the Oxford Performing Arts Center. Contact Clint
Gillespie at cgillesp@jsu.edu for more
information. This year Band-O-Rama is called “Kaleidoscope Festival of Arts”,
and has many performances from students and non-students.

April 8th, the 5thAnnual JSU Jazz Festival begins at 8:00 a.m. at Mason Hall, Theron Montgomery
Building (TMB) Auditorium, and Leone Cole Auditorium on JSU’s campus. Contact
Dr. Andy Nevala at anevala@jsu.edu for
more information. High school and college groups from around the area will be
at the JSU campus for a non-competitive educational and musical experience, to
help them grow the jazz community.

April 9th, Knox Concert
Series presents The Midtown Men at the Anniston Performing Arts Center at 7:30
p.m. For tickets, contact Mandi King at mandiking@cableone.net.
The Midtown Men are reuniting the four stars of Broadway’s Jersey Boys and bringing back to life the greatest hits
of the Sixties.

April 14th, JSU is
hosting Encore! Spring Concert at 7:30 p.m. at Mason Hall Performing Center.
Contact Dr. Renee Baptiste at baptiste@jsu.edu
for more information.Encore! Acts as ambassadors for JSU.
They are available to perform for school and community events. They are JSU’s
own Glee show.

“You can’t stop the beat” of this
fantastic musical. Community Actors’ Studio Theatre presents “Hairspray” April
21st-May 1st. Go to www.castalabama.com
for more information.